Average Briton is worth £70,000

THE average Brit is now worth a healthy £70,000, nearly 10% more than just two years ago thanks to the boom in property prices.

Private investors have seen shares fall by 33.5% - a loss of more than £180bn - since 2000 but this has been offset by a 32% rise in house prices over the same period, according to new research published by IBM Business Consulting Services.

It estimates that an average person is now worth around £70,000 in property, savings and investments, up from £64,000 in 2000. Of this property is estimated to account for about 53%, rising from 46% in 2000, while liquid investments such as shares and savings accounts make up just 23% - a drop of 7% over the same period.

The research also shows that the estimated value of property owned by individuals reached £2.2 trillion by the end of 2002.

According to IBM, the research indicates that financial services firms need to change their products to take into account the fact that people are worth more on paper. It believes a growing number of lenders will look to enter the current account mortgage market, while many others will launch equity release schemes.

And enthusiasm for property shows little sign of waning. One in four people are considering using spare cash to either invest in more property or reduce or pay off their mortgages, according a separate survey by investment group Jupiter.